Contemplation
by KC.xx
Summary: Its been 7 months since the night of graduation. Does Caroline finally make a choice to leave this town? Or will she continue to live her life in good old Mystic Falls?


_January_

It had been approximately 7 months since Klaus left Mystic first, Caroline thought it was a good feeling but as the months progressed and when Tyler came, not everything seemed right. Something was…missing.

_June- 7 month before_

"Now let's get out of here before 12 angry hybrids decide to pick a fight"

Caroline sighed, it was such a great and calm night. Dealing with the hunters, the witches, the ghosts and yet they were all able to graduate. Her high school chapter was gone. What did the future hold? She didn't know. She doesn't know what to expect. _All the perks of being a vampire, _Caroline said to herself

They both walked in silence, Caroline's arm linked through his arm. She looked up at him, he was s_o different_ when he was with her. She liked this side of him, he was so…human.

Caroline was so lost in thought that she hardly noticed they had arrive to her house till they reached her porch. She faced him and gave Klaus a warm smile.

"Thank you", Caroline whispered to Klaus, her scent filing his nostrils

"It was my pleasure, Caroline. Truly", He replied back with a smirk.

He kissed the top of her hand "good night, love" He spoke in that husky voice of his, looking up at her through his lashes. "Till we meet again"

"Goodnight, Klaus" Caroline replied back calmly.

And with that he turned around on his heels and disappeared into the shadows.

_He was gone._

* * *

"Caroline! Look! Caroline wake up!" Yelled Liz from downstairs

Caroline groaned and turned to her left side "ugh what.." she said in her tired voice.

The sun was creeping in through her windows, she could hear the birds chirping outside and the wind rustling through the nearby branches. Her mom was speaking to someone near the kitchen "Sorry Tyler, she had a late night yesterday"

_Tyler!?_

_What was he doing?_

_Of course… Caroline thought back to last night "Tyler is now free to return to Mystics Falls"_

With the sudden realization Caroline ran downstairs at vampire speed, not caring a bit about her appearance.

"Tyler!" Caroline yelled as she pranced down the stairs

"Oh my god, Tyler!" She embraced him in a tight hug while weeping

"Hey Care! God, I missed you so much", Tyler spoke as he pulled away to place a kiss upon her lips.

They both had completely forgotten that Liz was still present until she spoke.

"I'll let you two kids catch up" spoke Liz, exiting for the door and towards her car.

"Okay, I'll see you tonight Mom, love you"

"Love you too. It was nice seeing you Tyler! Take care"

"You too Liz, see yah"

Caroline let go of a breath she didn't know she was holding

"Oh my god, Tyler! I can't believe you're here!" She said while embracing him again

"Me neither, Care. Klaus called me yesterday, I was just as shock as you are now"

_Klaus. _The name rang in Caroline's head.

_Klaus._

"He's finally gone! He let me return back home! I'm free, Caroline! I'm finally free from that horrendous monster. He'll leave us alone, forever" said Tyler promptly

_Forever?... But Caroline didn't want forever._

"I wasn't at graduation, but I'm so happy for you! Congratulations, Caroline" Tyler gleamed

_Congratulations, Caroline. It wasn't the same. _Caroline thought to herself. The way Tyler said her name wasn't the same way it rolled off of_ his tongue, the way he said her name in that glorious accent of his was different._

Caroline just smiled, not knowing what to say to Tyler.

"Your mom isn't here…we can go up to your room and you know… "Tyler continued

Caroline hesitated for a while before answering "Oh, um…you just go back, Tyler. How about I get some drinks and we catch up?"

Tyler smiled, wrapping his arms around her slender waist, "sure"

Tyler and Caroline spent the night talking. Talking about what he missed during graduation, all the craziness that was going on with Silas, how the veil was dropped, and her plans after high school.

Tyler told her everything he was doing while he was away. He was living with a pack up in Northern Canada. Apparently, they knew all about being a hybrid, about his family, including his dad and Mason.

Caroline was happy to finally have some normal talk, it was what she needed. No drama, just two friends talking.

_Wait what? Friends? Did I just call Tyler a friend?_

"I'll go get another bottle", Caroline said sitting up from her position and heading towards the kitchen

Caroline took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts and taking in everything that just happened in the last hour with Tyler being here. Tyler was actually here. In Mystic Falls. With her. It all felt surreal to her.

_Wasn't this what I wanted all along? _Caroline thought to herself. She should be jumping with happiness at this moment, because Tyler was finally back to her. They could live together in perfect harmony forever.

_Forever…_

_But that's just it! _Caroline thought to herself_, there is no forever with Tyler! _ Tyler may be a hybrid but he certainly wasn't a full immortal like her. Caroline thought deeply about that for a few minutes before she came back to reality.

Caroline came back to the living room, hearing soft snoozing coming from her couch.

"Well, so much for talking", Caroline spoke to herself, She took the blanket off the couch and draped it over Tyler, before turning off the lights and heading up towards her own room.

She tied her hair up in a ponytail and went to wash up her face, she got dressed in her shorts and tank top, closed her window, plugged in her cell, and turned off her night stand lamp

_Ding Ding_

Caroline shifted to her side, when her phone started to flicker red. _A text message. At this time? Must be Stefan _she thought_, after all he did leave without saying goodbye._

"_Goodnight, love" _

Caroline just starred at her screen, point blank, not knowing what to think. She bit her lips and smiled. _He was remembering her from 1000 miles away. _Caroline thought of replying to it, by decided against it. She clicked off her screen and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"What's wrong, Care?" Tyler asked one evening

"Hmm?" Caroline said, lost in thought

"I said, what's wrong? You've been acting differently ever since I got here. You haven't once kissed me, you're treating more like a best friend than a boyfriend. You seem to be lost in your own world and you haven't once said you love me till I asked you yesterday, which you replied with "of course". So something is definitely wrong. What is it?"

Caroline sighed. _We aren't how we used to be, we've drifted apart. _"I don't know", was Caroline's weak and only answer

"Yes you do know" Tyler said sternly

Caroline looked up at him, her eyes warm and innocent. She took a deep breath before she spoke "Tyler…"

Tyler just waited patiently for what she had to say

Caroline couldn't help herself anymore, she wouldn't keep it inside her anymore. So she just came out and said it.

"We've been away from each other way too long, Tyler. The time gap was huge, we aren't children anymore. We've graduated, Tyler. Nothing is the same anymore, not how it used to be when we were in high school."

"What are you saying, Caroline…?"

"I think you know exactly what I'm saying, Tyler" Caroline whispered looking down.

"I think I do…"

Caroline looked up through her lashes, shocked at his answer "what?"

"I understand, Caroline. We aren't the same people who we are now. We were once in total love struck, head over heels for each other. But then I left. Twice. We've drifted to our own paths. We both thought we could just start where we left things off. But we didn't see the reality, because we didn't want to, because we didn't want to accept that whatever we had could be over"

Caroline's mouth fell open. He stole the words right out of her mouth.

"I will always love you, Tyler. It doesn't matter what comes between us, you were there for me when I needed you, and I'm grateful for that. We have a history, don't ever doubt that I could stop loving you. I will always love you, just like I love Elena, Bonnie, Stefan and Matt"

Tyler gave her an appreciated smile

Weeks had past and the only person Caroline heard from was Elena and Damon. Matt was on a summer Europe trip with Rebekah, Stefan had suddenly disappeared, taking off on his own for the summer to god knows where, Bonnie took off to stay with her mother for the summer and Tyler went back to Northern Canada. Which left her, by herself in good old Mystic Falls.

Caroline's thought drifted everywhere. What was everyone doing right now? Had Matt finally seen everything he wanted? Was Elena happy with Damon? How was Stefan handling everything?

* * *

_January_

At that moment, Caroline knew what she had to do. She knew what was missing, but she always tried to deny it. Caroline told herself constant lies so she wouldn't have to face the truth about what or who she truly was missing. She had done some deep thinking when Tyler had left, she balanced the pros and cons and finally came up with a decision. _Hey, if Matt went an entire summer with an original vampire what was the harm in going for a week vacation to meet one herself?_ She thought. _After all, a new year meant a new beginning. _

Caroline got up from where she was sitting, and wrote a detailed letter for her mother, not bothering to call her because she would just bombard her with questions. She sent a mass text to all her friends, packed her bag with all her essentials and headed straight towards the door that would lead her to a vast pathway of opportunities.

She deserved to live, to see the world outside of Mystics falls, to taste new food, to engage in new culture, meet new people and just simply have fun. She was Caroline Forbes, Miss Mystics Falls, head leader of the cheer squad, current college student and had no clue of what her future held. But she definitely knew where to start it...In New Orleans.


End file.
